Program: Purpose: Amount: Term: Start date: Location:

Microfinance Expand village savings and loans associations (VSLAs) $2 million Three years February 2009 Rwanda

Why We Partnered

CARE’s mission is to address the underlying causes of poverty and social injustice. It serves approximately 55 million people each year in developing countries. CARE is an international confederation of twelve organizations, including CARE Canada.

Rwanda has a population of approximately 9.5 million people. Eighty percent of them live in rural areas and on less than $2 a day. CARE will facilitate the expansion of village savings and loan associations (VSLAs) across the country. VSLAs are savings-led, community-managed groups in which the loan capital comes from the group’s accumulated savings. Each group sets its own rules about membership, savings, and loans. CARE will work with microfinance providers to customize their services to groups who want more diverse products such as larger loans, microinsurance and payment services. It will also test strategies to facilitate the efficient formation of groups.

This program is part of a coordinated global learning initiative with other organizations to generate new knowledge on cost-effective ways to offer financial services to remote poor. 

Anticipated Impact

• Improve the lives of 540,000 people
• Contribute new knowledge to the VSLA model